TomAiello

Dude, I just re-read Deuce's post. I don't see anywhere that he says something like "and of course all christians are good," or "it's only Muslims who are intolerant," or anything like that. Maybe you can point me to that part? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

My wife and I have ordered 2 copies of the last 2 books, so that we could read at the same time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

From a practical standpoint I doubt that. Both because the US Government will have bigger fish to fry and because the enforceability of that provision outside the US is going to be very difficult. Remember that this site is not a US corporation, Sangiro is not a US citizen, Sangiro does not live in the US, and the site is not hosted in the US. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I own them all, and have a copy pre-reserved for pickup at midnight Friday. I've blocked off Saturday on my schedule for reading it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Threats of physical violence, no matter how worded, are not appropriate in these forums. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

yeah, and you could be speaking german right now. how soon we forget. And you could be speaking French. or we all could be speaking latin. Those brits better be careful, or we'll invade and make them learn to speak english. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Just wear it on your back. Picture that with a BASE rig, and a cliff... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Sure. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I bet that wingsuit was made out of carbonfuckingfiber... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

... Which changes nothing. Suppose you and I have two identical, hypothetical accidents off of a legal object. Your insurance company distributes the cost of your rescue/treatment over its policy holders. My universal healthcare distributes the cost of my rescue/treatment over its policy holders. Either way, it is ultimately a large number of non-jumpers who foot the bill. In your case, assuming you don't have insurance, or your "insurance" is a government mandated program, the "large number of non-jumpers" have not made an affirmative choice to shoulder that burden. They are forced to pay by the government. In my case, the only people who pay are those who have chosen to be part of the insured pool, presumably because of their desire to have coverage. I'm seeing a huge difference between private and public costs, here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

... Which changes nothing. I disagree. I have paid for my insurance, and the costs of my accident will be distributed amongs folks who carry similar insurance. The cost is born by me (through my premiums), spread across other people who also pay premiums. It's not born by society at large, as no tax dollars are used to effect my rescue. edit to add: it seems like you are arguing that insurance is not an effective way of managing risk, because all costs are ultimately born by society at large. I disagree, and I point to the existence of a thriving insurance industry, which exists to manage risk, as support for my contention. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think it's so much about what can be displayed, but more about who is liable if it is. For example, if someone from a country in Eastern Europe, where such images are legal, posts a topless photo of a 16 year old girl onto the Bonfire forum here on DZ.com, who can be held liable? Sangiro? The Bonfire mods? Just the original poster? Sticky questions. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Would you care to expand on this reason a little Tom? I'm planning on jumping a GTi (borrowed) for my first WS jumps. On a jump from an aircraft with good clearance (i.e. not a big flock, or flocking with people with good experience and a clear break off plan) establishing immediate control of your parachute is not as a critical a safety issue as it is when, say, opening in the immediate proximity of a solid object. In other words, you, the jumper, don't have to worry so much about it taking a little longer to take control of your canopy, so you can afford the time necessary to open zippers, cut wings away, or whatever you want to do. Note that I'm talking here about the difference between taking 3 seconds to get free of the suit before controlling the canopy and taking no time at all. On a normal skydive, the 3 seconds just isn't going to make much difference. You'll be fine with the borrowed GTi.

I'll add this: If this is the case, a polite request to the original poster, and a PM to the moderator, is going to achieve the desired result far better than an angry retort. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Absolutely... and rescuers should demand your credit-card/bank-account number and leave you lying/hanging there if your balance is insufficient. Fortunately, my insurance will cover BASE rescues up to a million dollars. Most insurance policies will only pay out for legal jumps, though. So by making the jumps illegal, the NPS is shooting itself in the foot as far as recovering costs. If they were legal, the rescue would be covered. If they're banned, that might create problems. Why not make it legal and let people get insurance to cover the rescue? Note that this is somewhat hypothetical, as my insurance in real life actually does cover rescues from illegal jumps. But I do know that there are some policies that won't cover in those situations. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've PM'd you. You're not going to find a lot of sympathy here for your plan to "always attack" posts because you don't like them. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I once had some guys tell me that had made a jump at a relatively high profile object in Northern Caliifornia. They had apparently been seen by someone and chased but it was "all cool, because we got away." They didn't seem to realize that their "jump and chase" experience had made it harder for other people to jump that site, even though it had been reported to law enforcement. Putting stories like this on forums like this one can help disabuse people of this sort of notion. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I may have some extra gear. I'll give first dibs to folks in my class, so I'm not sure what will be left over. It's always hard to rent or borrow gear for BD. Starting this early, you'll probably get some in time, but there will be less on-the-ball folks who don't. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Duh.

It's pretty easy to find if you just read what he said. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It provides a useful lesson in that: (a) it shows that just being seen can lead to more heat, (b) it puts folks on notice that the building and area are a bit hot, (c) it provides a general object lesson for potentially useful general discussion. If the news is going to carry it for other folks, there is definitely some notice value for jumpers to hear about it as well. I agree with you that if anyone knew these guys, it would be foolish to advertise that fact publicly. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You also might want to contact Greeny. I know he had some photos of stuff out there. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I split this off the Phantom thread and changed the title. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I am confused as to why you are condsidering GS1 but not V-1, MTR (what are they on now, MTR3?) or S3s? It seems like if you are considering one high end suit you ought to consider the others? For a first suit, I'd leave those out of the running, and go with Prodigy, GTi, Classic or Phantom. Eliminating the Phantom (as it's not yet for sale), and the Classic (low resale value and not as much performance), that leaves Prodigy or GTi. If you are planning on flying this suit for a long time, and doing mostly airplane jumps, or if you can find a used one for cheap, I'd go with GTi. Good intermediate performance, you won't have to worry so much about post-opening control issues, and better availability in used suits. If you are planning on trading up to a high end suit (like those listed in the first paragraph) relatively soon, I'd go with the Prodigy. Good secondhand demand (for better resale), better controllability immediately post-opening, easier to put on and use, and still plenty of performance for your first 50 or 100 flights. One other thought: If you have any intention of BASE jumping with the suit, get the Prodigy for sure. Those comfort and ease of use issues quickly become safety issues when you are two seconds from an object strike. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com